Author: Gulf News Week
Western states have condemned the famine. They can end it by refunding UNRWA, the only agency capable of fairly and efficiently distributing aid.The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) was created in December 1949, almost two years after the UN voted for the partition of Palestine. It was, and still is, the only UN agency dedicated solely to one dispossessed population — the Palestinians.In the decades following its creation, UNRWA was engaged in almost all aspects of Palestinian life — from food distribution to healthcare and education to utilities provision. Amid the genocide in Gaza, the agency was sidelined,…
Syria will select the People’s Assembly on Sunday in the country’s first elections since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December.The elections are a historic moment after more than 50 years of dynastic, oppressive al-Assad rule and are another test for the new government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Is an end to war in sight in Gaza?list 2 of 3Week in Pictures: From Pro-Gaza protests in Europe to floods in Sudanlist 3 of 3At least 47 killed in Nepal as heavy rains trigger landslides, flash floodsend of listHowever, the electoral process…
Donald Trump urges Hamas to move quickly to release captives and finalise negotiations over his plan to end the war.Israeli attacks across the besieged Gaza Strip have killed at least 70 Palestinians, medical sources said, despite calls from United States President Donald Trump for Israel to stop its bombardment after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s war.At least 45 of the victims killed in bombardments and air strikes on Saturday were in the famine-struck Gaza City, where the Israeli army has been pressing an offensive in recent weeks, forcing some one million…
Activists describe mistreatment after Israel intercepted Gaza aid flotilla and detained about 450 people.Several international activists deported from Israel after joining a Gaza aid flotilla have accused Israeli forces of mistreating climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.The 137 deportees landed in Istanbul on Saturday, including 36 Turkish nationals alongside activists from the United States, Italy, Malaysia, Kuwait, Switzerland, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan and other countries, Turkish officials confirmed.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Gaza protests under way in Europe as arrests made in Londonlist 2 of 3Can a ‘one-sided, unserious’ US plan deliver peace to Gaza?list 3 of 3Norman Finkelstein: Trump…
Protests take place in Barcelona, Rome, Lisbon and London, where police made more than 100 arrests.Tens of thousands of people are marching in major cities across Europe to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza, with mass rallies taking place in urban centres across the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Portugal.Protests in Spain’s second-largest city, Barcelona, as well as in Madrid, were planned weeks ago, while calls for demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon followed widespread anger after Israeli forces intercepted a humanitarian aid flotilla – the Global Sumud Flotilla – that had set sail from Barcelona for Gaza, trying to break…
The Israeli army repeats threat to Palestinians to leave northern Gaza to the south and not to return to Gaza City.The Israeli military has warned Palestinians that Gaza’s north remains a “combat zone”, telling its residents to move south, after United States President Donald Trump demanded Israel “stop bombing” the enclave when Hamas partially accepted his ceasefire plan.In a statement on X, the Israeli army said on Saturday that the area north of Wadi Gaza, which includes decimated Gaza City, is “still considered a dangerous combat zone” and called on residents there to move south via Rashid Street, the coastal…
Kurdish fighter Saman Mohammadi was also hanged for killing a Muslim leader, the Mizan News Agency reports.Iran has executed six fighters accused of waging armed attacks in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, according to state media, as the country continues its accelerated executions of people it says have ties to Israel following the 12-day June conflict with Israel and the United States.“The death sentence for six separatist terrorist elements, who in recent years had carried out a series of armed operations and bombings targeting security in Khuzestan province, was carried out at dawn today,” the judiciary said on its Mizan…
There has been hopeful global reaction to Hamas’s response to Trump’s plan, which marks a potential turning point in Israel’s two-year war on Gaza.There have been global reactions tinged with hope, including from key mediators, to Hamas’ partial acceptance of United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza, as the prospect of halting the two-year genocidal assault appears within reach.Late on Friday, the Palestinian group said that it was ready to release all remaining captives and to hand over power to other Palestinians but that other elements of the proposal needed further negotiations.Recommended Stories list…
Hamas has responded positively to Trump’s Gaza peace proposal, but differences remain.Hamas has submitted its response to United States President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal, agreeing to free all the Israeli captives it holds, but asking to negotiate other aspects of the 20-point plan.Trump – who had given the Palestinian group a deadline of Sunday to respond positively to the deal – has reacted by demanding Israel immediately stop bombing Gaza.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Hamas says it agrees to parts of Trump’s Gaza plan but seeks more talkslist 2 of 3UN report finds over 40,000 in…
Union says more than two million protested Friday, with massive turnout expected tomorrow for Rome protests.Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Italy as part of a general strike in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla that was intercepted by Israel this week while trying to bring aid to Palestinians in Gaza.More than two million people attended Friday’s protests after the strike was called by a number of trade unions “in defence of the flotilla”, which was carrying a total of 40 Italians, and to “stop the genocide”, the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) wrote…